Japan PM touts "cute" Japan at fashion show
Surrounded on stage by members of an all-girl pop group, Shigeru Ishiba made a surprise appearance Saturday at the Tokyo Girls Collection -- a popular fashion festival.
"I think it would be wonderful if an event like this gains more traction, to make Japan cute, lively and cool," Ishiba said, posing alongside "Myaku-Myaku" -- the expo's red-and-blue mascot.
The stunt came as polls showed his approval ratings recovering after he got through his first face-off with US President Donald Trump last month with no major disaster.
Domestically though, Ishiba's minority government continues to face the challenge of convincing parliament to pass a budget for the new fiscal year starting in April.
Ishiba took office last year before leading his ruling coalition to a loss of its majority -- the first since 2009 -- in October snap elections.
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China and South Korea reminded Japan of its wartime atrocities in their countries and elsewhere in Asia. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticized attempts in Japan to 'whitewash and deny aggression, distort and falsify history and even seek to rehabilitate the accusations of war criminals.' 'Only by facing history squarely can we gain respect, only by learning from history can we forge ahead into the future,' he added. In Seoul, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, ahead of an upcoming trip to Japan for a summit with Ishiba, called for the two U.S. allies to overcome grievances from Japan's brutal colonial rule. He said some historical issues remain unresolved, urging Tokyo to face up to 'our painful history and strive to maintain trust between our two countries.' Japanese emperors have stopped visiting the Yasukuni site since the enshrinement of top war criminals there in 1978. 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Naoya Endo, 64, came to Yasukuni in place of his late father who was among a few out of his unit's 50 members who returned from Taiwan. He said he worries about the growing global tension and hopes there will be no war in his lifetime. He lamented that many Japanese have lost pride and a love of their homeland. In an editorial Friday, the Mainichi newspaper called on Japan to work together with Asian neighbors as equal partners. 'It's time to show a vision toward 'a world without war' based on the lesson from its own history,' the Mainichi said. Yamaguchi writes for the Associated Press. AP journalists Mayuko Ono, Ayaka McGill and Reeno Hashimoto in Tokyo; Huizhong Wu in Bangkok and Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea contributed to this report.
